Expansion plan for ‘oversubscribed’ school set for approval

Nicholas Thomas – Local democracy reporter

A special school in south Wales is expected to open a new Key Stage 2 base later this year after becoming oversubscribed.

Ysgol Bryn Derw in Newport has capacity for 96 pupils but there are currently 112 students on the rolls, a city council report shows.

Some 40 extra places will be created if the expansion goes ahead – meaning more children could receive an education within the city, rather than needing to travel out of county on expensive placements.

Newport City Council believes the plan “represents the best and most achievable solution to the local pressure for specialist education placements for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)”.

Consultation

The local authority has proposed opening the new Key Stage 2 base in September at the former Caerleon Lodge Hill infant building, which is currently occupied by Welsh-medium school Ysgol Gymraeg Nant Gwenlli.

However, the building will become available from April, when Nant Gwenlli pupils are expected to move to their new school in Pill.

A report on the outcomes of a recent consultation period shows the vast majority of respondents backed the expansion plan for Ysgol Bryn Derw.

Of the 53 people who took part, 50 supported the proposal, agreeing the growth “was needed and that there are not currently enough specialist places available across Newport schools and settings”.

Report

The three other respondents supported the council’s proposal “in part”, according to the report.

One said Maes Ebbw School should also be considered for expansion – but the council said its proposals mean any pupils at Maes Ebbw with a diagnosis of ASD will be able to transfer to the new Key Stage 2 base.

Another respondent suggested Ysgol Bryn Derw should be “consolidated” on one site.

The council said it had discounted this option because of the “significant capital investment” required, the main site being “not suitable for expansion”, and there being “no available parcel of land” for a new school.

The third respondent questioned why grant funding spent on the existing Ysgol Gymraeg Nant Gwenlli building would now benefit an English-medium school.

The council said Nant Gwenlli’s new site, in Pill, will be “much bigger”, adding that retaining the site in Caerleon for Welsh-language education “is not viable in terms of demand or staff availability”.